Motorcycle Classics Editor-in-Chief Richard Backus with Dave Rosenbery and
his wife, winners of the Motorcycle Classics/Barber Vintage Festival Sweepstakes.  

The weekend of Oct. 7-9, 2011, couldn't have been any more exciting if you love classic motorcycles and were fortunate enough to attend the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival in Leeds, Ala.

Motorcycle Classics was there and we had a blast. Sponsored by Moto Guzzi, which had a tent set up right next to ours, the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show was a huge success. We had 61 bikes in all, 42 of which were Moto Guzzi's. Add those to the beautiful Moto Guzzi's that took advantage of our parking corral, and our space was filled with more than 100 vintage beauties. Personal highlights for us were Antonio Ricciardi's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga and Larry Hubbard's 2001 Ghezzi-Brian.

Dave Rosenberry, winner of the Motorcycle Classics/Barber Vintage Festival sweepstakes, brought his wife to the show and they were having a great time. Dave's sweepstakes package included tickets for the three-day festival, passes to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and its 900-plus collection of classic motorcycles, two front row tickets to Auctions America's Barber Motorcycle Auction, three nights lodging, plus a pair of Barber Vintage Festival T-shirts and caps.

Making our Vintage Motorcycle Show even more special was the presence of celebrity judges Alan Cathcart, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Technical Director Brian Slark, National Motorcycle Museum Special Projects Coordinator Mark Mederski and Moto Guzzi Brand Manager Rick Panattieri. Alan also presented some of the awards, and spoke at length about the Moto Guzzi's on display at our show.

Here are some photos to whet your whistle for next year's show:

 
Matt Wiley of Race Tech Suspension presented a seminar on vintage bike
suspension in the Motorcycle Classics tent.  

 
The AeroShell aerobatic team thrilled the crowd on Saturday.  

 
Frank Templeton's 1976 Yamaha RD400 was one of the 61 bikes to enter the
Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show.  

 
George Brown's 1973 Laverda SF1.  

 
Antonio Ricciardi's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga. 

 
Alan Cathcart and Motorcycle Classics Editor-in-Chief Richard Backus.  

 
Ducati racing legends Cook Nielson, Paul Smart and Jason DiSalvo were
signing autographs throughout the weekend.  

 
Richard Backus, Barber Motorsports Museum Technical
Director Brian Slark and Moto Guzzi Brand Manager Rick
Panattieri take a close look at Robert Watson's 1939 Series
A Vincent Rapide.  

 
A visit to the Barber Vintage Festival is incomplete if you don't make
into the world-class Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.  

 
Trophies were awarded to 11 motorcycles covering seven categories plus
the Editor's Choice.  

 
Of the 61 bike entered into the Motorcycle Classics Vintage
Motorcycle Show, 42 were Moto Guzzi's.  

 
Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival.  

Beautiful weather and an exciting weekend of vintage motorcycle events attracted an impressive amount of entries into the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival in Leeds, Ala., Oct. 7-9.

In all, 62 bikes were entered into the show including 42 Moto Guzzi's. Moto Guzzi was the show sponsor and featured category.

Celebrity judges for the show were motorcycle writer, rider and all-around luminary Alan Cathcart, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum Technical Director Brian Slark, National Motorcycle Museum Special Projects Coordinator Mark Mederski, Moto Guzzi Brand Manager Rick Panettieri and Motorcycle Classics Editor-in-Chief Richard Backus. Trophies were awarded for Best Restored and Best Rider in seven categories (Japanese, British, European, American, Custom and People's Choice), as well one for Editor's Choice. Here are the winners:

Japanese

 
Best Restored/Original: Frank Templeton's 1976 Yamaha RD400. 

 
Best Rider: Tom Sinclair's 1981 Honda CB750F. 

British

 
Best Restored: David Hurst's 1966 Triumph Bonneville TT.  

 
Best Rider: Robert Watson's 1939 Series A Vincent Rapide.  

European

 
Best Restored: George Brown's 1973 Laverda SF1. 

 
Best Rider: Scott Reichert's 1972 Jawa Californian. 

American

 
Best Rider: Gary Surgeon's 1981 Harley-Davidson FLH. 

Custom

 
Jacquie Ritchie's 1979 Moto Guzzi V1000 Café.  

People's Choice

 
Bill Jones' 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport.  

Best Moto Guzzi

 
Larry Hubbard's 2001 Ghezzi-Brian.  
Read more about Larry's Ghezzi-Brian.

Editor's Choice

 
Antonio Ricciardi's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga. 
Read more about Antonio's Gambalunga.

 

 
Larry Hubbard's 2001 Ghezzi-Brian won the trophy for Best Moto Guzzi in
the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival.  

The Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival attracted an impressive group of classic motorcycles. With Moto Guzzi as a show sponsor and featured category in the show, there was no shortage of spectacular classic Moto Guzzi's on display, especially Larry Hubbard's 2001 Ghezzi-Brian.

 

While the Ghezzi-Brian isn't a "classic" by standard definition, it was certainly a welcome entry in the bike show based on its rarity and significance to Moto Guzzi. Celebrity judge Alan Cathcart gave special recognition to three classic Moto Guzzi's and explained why he and the rest of the judges felt this newer bike deserved the honor of Best Moto Guzzi in the show:

 

Of course, nothing beats seeing the Ghezzi-Brian in person, but watching a video of Larry and his bike ride off into the sunset is the next best thing:

  
Alan Cathcart offered special recognition to Spencer Graves' 1939 Moto Guzzi
GTS along with three other Moto Guzzi's in the Motorcycle Classics Vintage 
Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival.  

Motorcycle luminary Alan Cathcart served as a celebrity judge in the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival in Leeds, Ala. With Moto Guzzi as the show sponsor and the featured bike, Alan made special mention of three Moto Guzzi's that caught his eye while he walked through the Motorcycle Classics show grounds. They included Spencer Graves' 1939 Moto Guzzi GTS, which Spencer has owned since 1968 and brought to the United States from Ethiopia in 1970 and Antonio Ricciardi's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga.

  

 

 
Antonio Ricciardi's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga was another one of Alan's  
favorites. 

Another Moto Guzzi GTS that caught Alan's eye.     

 
Antonio Ricciardi poses with his 1951 Moto Guzzi
Gambalunga.  

Antonio Ricciardi was one of the most entertaining characters to enter a bike into the Motorcycle Classics Vintage Motorcycle Show at the 2011 Barber Vintage Festival. And while Antonio's 1951 Moto Guzzi Gambalunga sure made a pretty picture, the bike made an even better sound.

 

 

 

For such an engaging personality, it was fitting that Antonio's bike was a crowd favorite and recipient of the Motorcycle Classics Editor's Choice award:  

 

 
Associate Editor Landon Hall gets ready to give Antonio a push. 

Antonio uses a 50/50 combination of airplane fuel and high-octane gasoline for the Gambalunga, necessitating a healthy push whenever he wants to get it started.  

 
The Brooks Motor Works crew with their record-setting 1955 BMW R50 sidecar rig at Bonneville Salt Flats, 2011, where they set a new record of 94.333mph in the Vintage Sidecar Gas 500cc class. 

At Brooks Motor Works our motto is, “The Past is not what it used to be.” But what do we mean by that? 

The perspective of history can give us a different perception of events passed. Our beloved BMW motorcycles are an appropriate example. Once shiny new cherished possessions, they became with the passage of years and miles just another old motorcycle. More years pass and they become 'interesting old bikes' but slow and outdated, morphing in more recent times into 'Vintage and collectible classics' and once again becoming cherished possessions. 

I refurbish BMW's, repair BMW's, and restore them to their former glory. But why stop there? They can be made much better than new in so many ways and still retain the exact same appearance externally. A vintage BMW that accelerates harder, stops better, has better road holding, 12-volt electronic digitally controlled ignition and 150-watt alternator to power real lights AND an electric vest to keep you warm on those brisk fall and spring rides! And the only external indicator that all these attributes are hidden inside waiting for you is the 12-volt battery. What's NOT to like?! So what has this got to do with racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats? A Lot! 

 

We use our Bonneville excursions to test a host of improvements to all aspects of our machines that they can be shown to be reliable and rideable. The Bonneville Salt Flat is known as the Great White Dyno; and serves well as our engine proving grounds and for the bikes in general, as well. And in August 2011, they did quite well indeed! 

We dove right in with our record holding sidecar rig running in the Vintage Sidecar Gas (SC-VG 500cc) Class. This year we added a fabulous dustbin fairing fabricated by Dean Paulus and painted by Bob Clark of Puget Sound Autobody. We are back this year with different carburetion and a new exhaust system to boost upper end breathing.  

A quick run to check the jetting and we are back in line for a speed run. The lines are blissfully short this year and the motor is still warm when we hit the salt with a Speed Run of 94.528mph! We had the sidecar rig into Impound within six hours of our arrival!  

 
Kevin Brooks gets a push start before starting his run. 

The next morning we are out bright and early, too amped up to sleep and excited about the potential the sidecar had demonstrated the previous afternoon. Record return runs are all conducted first thing on the morning following the qualifying run. And we are well up in the line and waiting impatiently for our shot at the record. When we are two contestants back we start the motor to warm her up. She starts a little reluctantly in the cool morning air, but once spun up, sounds positively awesome! When our turn comes we launch with a little push from Bruce and Barb, and slipping the clutch out to 6,000rpm she finally hooks up and we are flying toward 9,000rpm. After making the shift to second I get a little sideways, but soon have her straightened back up and headed for the timing lights. The shift to third is crisp as always and we tuck in behind the windscreen to minimize drag. I have the throttle to the stop now and watch the tach climb quickly to 8,000 then 8,100rpm. The two-mile marker flashes past; I am into the timing zone; then the quarter mile markers have all gone by and the three-mile marker and the end of the lights; almost before I am settled into the ride, all is done. 

 
Kevin making his run at Bonneville. 

I sit up and slow quickly, making the turn toward the recovery road. It feels really good, and I know the record is in the bag. We get the timing slip from the timing shack and do a quick computation. We have blasted thru the old record by over 7mph to set a new SC-VG 500cc record at 94.333mph! With a VINTAGE 1955 R50 BMW!  

The past is definitely NOT what it used to be! (The factory claimed 87mph top speed for a solo R50 back in the day.) But we are not done with the Flying Egg yet. I believe that a little additional development will nudge us up over the 100mph mark! 

Learn more about Kevin Brooks and Brooks Motor Works at http://www.brooksmotorworks.com/  

 

 
Leon Primus catches some air on his Honda at an offroad race in Maybrook, N.Y., in 1968. 

Arizona resident and Motorcycle Classics reader Leon Primus’ love of motorcycles goes back to his teenage years in the mid-1960s, when he started racing in offroad events in and around his native New Jersey. This photo shows Leon at one of his early races, an offroad event in Maybrook, N.Y., in 1968. “I was doing this by myself,” Leon tells us, “and my family never came to any of my races so I had no support. At that time I was working at a Yamaha/Kawasaki dealership after school and at a bakery on Friday and Saturday nights. I would sleep in the truck on my way to the races on Sunday. The shop used to be a Harley dealership; I started working there at the age of 10 in 1962, cleaning the bikes after school, sweeping the floor and feeding the dog, Bingo. That’s when I first started riding. My brother’s best friend, Frank Jr., his dad had owned the H-D dealership at that time, Frank W. Speer, Paterson, N.J. They taught me how to ride on a 125 Hummer and I haven’t stopped since. The new owner of the shop had my high school give him the OK and sent me to attend classes at Yamaha International when it was still in Cherry Hill, N.J.”

Leon’s current ride is a 1984 BMW R100RS L/E that he bought new, now sporting just more than 60,000 miles, but he tells us he has seven other bikes, including a 1969 Greeves 380 Griffon, a 1960 Sportster XLCH, a 1968 Kawasaki W2 TT, three vintage Yamahas and a Suzuki 550E. Keep on rolling, Leon!

 
Royce Thiessen's first bike, a 1975 Honda CB750 found on Craigslist. 

I have been reading Motorcycle Classics since 2008 and finally decided to get off the sidelines and jump into the classic motorcycle arena.  So I began browsing Craig’s list, found the classic I’d always wanted and went to look it over.  The front brake was sticking preventing an actual test ride but I figured that could be fixed.  Otherwise it was all there (wrong seat) and seemed to run properly so I bought it.  A few days later I was ready to follow your motto “Ride ‘Em, Don’t Hide ‘Em “ and take my ‘new’ 1975 Honda CB750 for its first ride.   

This was not as simple as it sounds as I first had to siphon out the old gas and replace it, air up the tires, and disable the front brake due to the sticking problem.  After donning helmet, jacket and gloves, I was ready to go and fired it up.  Then, with the feeling of anticipation that comes at the beginning of any first ride, I eased the clutch and headed down the hill in front of my house.  Because of the absence of a front brake and the age of the motorcycle, the plan was to ride cautiously up and down the street a few times, just to ‘get a feel for the bike’.

From the beginning the engine wouldn’t idle very well and I attributed this to its need to warm up but things only got worse from there.  By the time I was half way down the street it was cutting in and out and then the engine died completely.  Since I was headed down hill, the momentum carried me to the bottom where I stopped and tried in vain to start the engine.  Although it turned over smartly, it wouldn’t fire.  After a few futile minutes of trying - choke on, choke off, throttle on, throttle off - I gave up and unhappily accepted that I was dead in the water and wasn’t going to get it started anytime soon.  I just stood there and looked at what had, until a few moments ago, been my beautiful ‘new’ pride and joy.   

Then the recriminations began.  How could I be so stupid!  What did I think was going to happen when I bought a 36 year old motorcycle?  Obviously the engine was messed up and to ever get it running again it would probably require complete carburetor rebuilds or worse by an expensive professional mechanic.  The guy who sold it to me said it ran great, and it did at his place, and I was just dumb enough to fall for it. I hadn’t even taken it for a test ride. How stupid was that.  And so on and so on.

But in the end, there I was, stuck at the bottom of the hill.  I couldn’t leave the motorcycle in the road so the only thing to do was to push it back up the hill to my house.  Then I would have to get some sucker, probably a friend, to help me push it up my steep driveway and into the garage.  So off I went, slowly pushing my former pride and joy now turned object lesson to the foolishness of middle age, up the two hundred yards to my house.   

About half way there I came upon a neighbor working in his yard.  I hoped he would respect my manly pride and do the noble thing of ignoring me so I could quietly pass by in my shame.  But that is not the American way, of course, and when he saw the sad sight of me pushing a motorcycle up the hill he immediately came over and offered to help.  I turned him down mumbling something like ‘I must have flooded it’ and ‘I need the exercise’.  (Maybe I can start a fad of pushing old motorcycles up and down hills as a new, fun way to get in shape.)  But I took a break to talk to him anyway as I was already winded from the first hundred yards and the hill ahead was only getting steeper.  It turned out he owned a Suzuki 800 so we talked about that and at one point he mentioned a motorcycle he had once owned and had modified with a smaller gas tank.  As soon as he said ‘gas tank’ it hit me.  I had turned the gas off earlier in the day when I siphoned the old gas out of the tank and never turned it on again.  I immediately checked and sure enough, the petcock was off.   

Needless to say, that was changed in a hurry.  The bike fired right up and in a few seconds I was roaring up and down the street at speeds far exceeding the legal limit.  It was great.  The 750 ran like a scalded dog and, throwing caution to the wind, I decided who needed a front brake, insurance or a license plate anyway and rode off down the road.  My confidence restored, I couldn’t help but think what a smart guy I was to buy such a great bike.  I should have done this years ago. It ended up to be a great first ride.
Royce Thiessen/Morristown, Tennessee 

 

 
Tom Foote (right) and his friend, Jim, on
a 1959 Triumph Tiger Cub back in 1963 just
before they each turned 16. 

I’ve always had motorcycles in my life in some way, it would seem. My friend, Jim, has always been there as well. Since September 1954, actually, when we started elementary school.

My first ride on a motorcycle took place about the same time. My family was visiting my aunt and uncle in Montana. At that time, my uncle Theo owned a 1936 Indian Four and he insisted my mother allow me to go for a ride with him. I remember sitting in front of my uncle on the big tractor style seat. I was hooked from then on.

During the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, Theo rode from Montana to Seattle on his 1961 250 Jawa to see the fair and visit us. Needless to say, Uncle Theo’s visits were always exciting and highly anticipated. Incidentally, we saw Elvis Presley while he was filming Take Me to the Fair.

 
Tom and Jim on the Tiger Cub in Aug. 2010.  

In the above photo, taken in Aug. 2010, we attempt to recreate the photo from 1963. The Tiger Cub is exactly the same motorcycle except repainted blue. I bought it the summer of 1963 and have never parted with it. I also own a 1965 Honda CB-160 and two newer Harleys: a Sportster and Heritage Springer.